Like many other people I have always aspired for great things. I am an ambitious individual that gains satisfaction from being successful and achieving personal goals. This led me to research into entrepreneurialism and the many opportunities it provides. As you can imagine it is a vast topic with a number of specialisms.
I now feel I am in a position where I can share my acquired knowledge with other individuals who aspire at being an entrepreneur. Before you can begin as an entrepreneur you need an idea. This probably sounds obvious but for many of us who aspire to be an entrepreneur it can be easier said than done and is perhaps one of the main reasons many individuals give up before they have even started.
The first piece of advice I would give the aspiring entrepreneur is don’t think too big. There is nothing wrong with thinking big and having goals to aim towards but whilst you are starting out and learning you are likely to be more successful if you do not expect too much too soon. Often the best ideas are the simplest.
So how do you generate ideas? Well to begin with you may need to start becoming more observant. There are problems all around so one way to generate an idea is by getting better at identifying problems. Sometimes this can be as basic as listening to people better. Quite often when we are talking to our friends or co-workers they will have complaints about a product or service that they have been in contact with. By actively listening to these complaints and asking the person what would have made their experience better you may be able to generate an idea through a solution to a problem. Being more observant does not just apply to talking to our friends, family or co-workers. When you are doing your shopping, or are on the bus or train, or out and about in town remain vigilant to any problems. How could you make peoples lives more convenient, fun or enjoyable? Or how could you offer a better service or more value for money? At this point I would also advice that you have a pen and notepad handy at all times so you can write down any ideas. I would say at this stage there is no such thing as a bad idea. Write it down anyway you can dismiss it at a later time when you can think about it in more depth. There is a very real risk that if you don’t write an idea down you may forget it. Ideas can be hard to come by and easy to forget. Obviously ensure that when you are writing ideas down you are in a situation where it is safe to do so.
Another tool which can be helpful in generating ideas is through the internet. If there is an area that you have a particular interest in such as smartphone apps. Do some research into this area. See what is available and what people want. Again it is a good idea to have a notepad and pen when researching ideas. If you find an idea that you think you could develop write it down. When you have two or three ideas it may be possible to blend or merge them. This may not always produce a good idea that you can pursue but it can get your creative juices flowing.
The key issues to remember when generating ideas is to be creative and as imaginative as possible. There are still an endless about of ideas to be generated. If you can learn to start identifying problems and solve them then you are creating a good basis for creating more ideas. It is never to late to learn this skill even if it doesn’t come naturally. You can also find that it is much easier to be creative in subjects, areas and topics that you are very familiar with or have a good knowledge of. It is difficult to be creative in areas that you do not know very well.